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Ron Hertel, Program SupervisorReadiness to Learn, Compassionate Schools

Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction

Liz Frausto, DirectorFamily and Community Partnerships

Puget Sound Educational District

Trauma, Adversity, and Learning

Adverse Childhood Experiences

The 1998 Adverse Childhood Experiences study

• 17,421 adult members of a large HMO, • 44 percent of respondents reported suffering sexual, physical, or psychological abuse as children, and • 12.5 percent reported domestic violence in the home.

(Fellitti et al., 1998)

Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs)

COUNTING ACEs

The ACE Score is the number of

categories of adverse childhood

experience to which a person was

exposed.

The ACE Study found that the number of categories, not

necessarily the frequency or severity of the experiences

within a category, determine health outcomes across the

population as a whole.

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Alcoholism & alcohol abuse

Chronic obstructive pulmonary

disease & ischemic heart disease

Depression

Fetal death

High risk sexual activity

Illicit drug use

Intimate partner violence

Liver disease

Obesity

Sexually transmitted disease

Smoking

Suicide attempts

Unintended pregnancy

Early Death

The higher the ACE Score, the greater the incidence of

co-occurring conditions from this list.

LIFE LONG

PHYSICAL, MENTAL & BEHAVIORAL OUTCOMES

ACEs in WASHINGTON

ACEs impact student learning1. Inability to process verbal/nonverbal written

information.

2. Inability to effectively use language to relate to others.

3. Lack of sequential organization.

4. Not understanding cause and effect.

5. Lack of sense of self and perspective.

6. Inability to distinguish emotions.

7. Lack executive functions: setting goals, developing a plan, carrying out goals, reflecting on the process.

8. Difficulty with transitions (endings and beginnings).

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

Academic Failure (36% of Students)

Significant Attendance Problems (13% of Students)

Significant School Behavior Problems (28% of Students)

No Known Adverse Events N=828 27% 7% 16%

One Reported Adverse Event N=332 36% 15% 33%

Two Reported Adverse Events N=159 52% 19% 45%

Three or more Adverse Events N=196 58% 32% 54%

Percent of Children with Adverse Experiences Who Are Currently Experiencing Significant Academic Problems

Blodgett et al, 2010

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

No Known Adverse Events N=828

One Reported Adverse Event

N=332

Two Reported Adverse Events

N=159

Three or more Adverse Events

N=196

Students with One or More School Problems 36% 57% 69% 79%

Students with One or More School Problems

Blodgett et al, 2010

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PIERCE COUNTY JUVENILE COURT IMPROVEMENT PROJECT:

A CASE STUDY OF THE ROLE OF ACEs IN COSTLY SOCIAL PROBLEMS

(Grevstad, 2007)

ACE Prevalence

17%

48%

34%

58%

25%17%

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

Zero to One Two or Three Four or More

Juvenile Prob. HMO Pop.

This past winter the Pierce County Juvenile Court provided the Tacoma Urban Network with ACE data for 1,980 youth who were discharged from probation between January 2004 and December 2006 (Grevstad, 2007).

Probation Youth -vs- HMO Population

71%

43%

58%

15%

33%

82%

61%

69%

15%

41%

85%

64%

74%

20%

51%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

Early

Suspension

More than 4

Suspensions

Below C grade

point

Dropped Out

or Expelled

Special Ed

Student

Zero or One Two or Three Four or More

(Grevstad, 2007)

School Performance & ACE Category

HIGH ACE STUDENTS OFTEN HAVE HIGH ACE PARENTS

Childhood Resiliency Starts With:

A shift in thinking from “What’s wrong with you?”

to “What happened to you?”

Resilient students need resilient teachers.

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Trauma,Compassion,

and ResiliencyDefined

“It’s difficult to play chess

in a hurricane.”

Dr. Kenneth Fox Mount Vernon School DistrictMount Vernon, Washington

Trauma Response

• Survival trumps learning.

• Restrict their processing of what is happening around them, disconnect or act coercively toward others, and cannot formulate a coherent, organized response.

• They have difficulty regulating their emotions, managing stress, developing empathy, and using language to solve problems.

Persistent trauma can cause the brain to be underdeveloped or damaged.

A damaged or undeveloped brain often causes a child to react differently to a stressful situation than a child without those constrictions.

Therefore, a child who is more reflexive than reflective may have a biological reason for behaving the way they did which is beyond their control. This is an essential understanding for all school staff in order to modify their approach to the behavior.

Biology of the Impact of Trauma

The brain was

designed to solve

problems related

to surviving in an

unstable outdoor

environment and

to do so in almost

constant motion.

John Medina, Bain Rules

Brain Functioning

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BRAIN RULE # 8

Stressed brains don’t’ learn in the same way that non stressed

brains do.

John Medina, PhD, Seattle Pacific University

University of Washington

Self-Care: An Ethical

Obligation for Those

Who Care

RIPPLE EFFECT

• COMPASSION FATIGUE

• VICARIOUS TRAUMA

• BURN OUT

Traumatic events are like rocks thrown into our pond. Each

rock causes a series of ripples.

Strategies

for

Compassionate

Classrooms

Building Compassionate

School-Community

Partnerships That Work

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Case Studies and Vignettes

Direct From the Field

Resources

Three Essential Steps

1. Assess the school’s needs to determine the level of information required so that professional development training could target staff needs.

2. Implementation of staff development focusing on a definition of adverse childhood experiences and complex trauma and potential effects on student learning.

3. Equipping staff with strategies to work with children who had been exposed to adverse childhood experiences and complex trauma.

Systems Thinking as a Leadership Practice

Incr

easi

ng L

ever

age

Questions?

What Happened?

What’s been happening?Where are the changes?

Why?... How?What explains this?Theorise

What are the beliefs?Assumptions?

Action?

Knee-jerk reaction

Anticipate, plan

Design

Transform

Events

Trends and Patterns

Structure

Mental Models

The Water Line

Slide courtesy of George Ambler

• Staff to staff

• Staff to students

• Students to students

• School to parents and community

Mental Models Affect

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• Benefits all students, including trauma affected

• Part of overall school plan, improvement plan

• Leadership engaged

• ACES content changes the mental model

• A process, not a program

Compassionate Schools Key Points

• Include chance for all staff to buy in

• Value existing efforts

• Create a Compassionate Learning Community

• Utilize EBP/promising practices, e.g. Safe and Civil Schools,

PBIS, Tribes < Calming

• Sustain and evaluate

Compassionate Schools Key Points

• Leadership team 4-8 people

• Vision

• Guiding behaviors

• Rubric leading to goals

• Time to think and learn together

Compassionate Learning Communities (CLC)

Compassionate Learning Community Matrix Components

1. Vision/Value, Goals and Leadership2. Safety3. Collaborative Culture4. Behavior5. Positive Discipline6. Positive Climate 7. Social Skills8. Family Partnerships9. Community Partnerships10.Cultural Competency

Component 3 – Collaborative Culture

Littl

e or N

o D...

Lim

ited D

evelo...

Most

ly Funct

io...

Fully

Funct

ion...

0% 0%

59%

41%

1. Little or No Development

2. Limited Development

3. Mostly Functional

4. Fully Functional

Component 5 – Positive Discipline

Littl

e or N

o D...

Lim

ited D

evelo...

Most

ly Funct

io...

Fully

Funct

ion...

13%

0%

28%

59%

1. Little or No Development

2. Limited Development

3. Mostly Functional

4. Fully Functional

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Evaluation

Thanks for all you do to support

students!